Rising startups on Tech In Asia: neo-banking, co-living, and more

Which are the startups that are on the path to becoming the next big thing? In this regular post, we give you an overview of the companies that have raised money in the past week, as well as those we think investors should look at.

1. Razorpay (India)

Payments solution startup Razorpay raised US$75 million in a series C funding round co-led by Ribbit Capital and Sequoia India, with participation from Tiger Global Management and Continuity Fund. The company will use the fresh capital to strengthen its neo-banking platform and its lending business. More info.

2. Bounce (India)

E-scooter rental startup Bounce raised US$72 million in a series C round led by Capital Group and Falcon Edge Capital. The funds will be used for further technology development and expansion in India. More info.

3. M17 (Taiwan)

M17 is a video streaming startup that recently started a business-to-business arm providing tools and services to social media-oriented sellers. More info.

4. Co-Hive (Indonesia)

Co-working space startup Co-Hive, which is affiliated to venture capital firm East Ventures, raised US$13.5 million in a series B round led by Stonebridge Ventures with participation from Kolon Investment, Stassets Investment, and some Indonesian developers and existing investors. More info.

5. Indorse (Singapore)

Skills-verification platform Indorse is raising US$6.5 million in investment from Brand Capital, the investment arm of Indian media conglomerate The Times Group. It will use the fresh capital for further expansion in India. More info.

6. Terra Drone (Japan)

Terra Drone designs drone software for flight planning, synchronized flying, aerial LIDAR scanning, mapping, inspecting, and visualizing. It also offers in-the-field drone services. Founded in 2016, the startup is now profitable. More info.

7. Anchanto (Singapore)

Anchanto is a software-as-a-service startup enabling businesses to participate in e-commerce marketplaces. It also offers a warehouse management software. The company has raised found funding rounds, most recently in July 2018. More info.

8. EMQ (Hong Kong)

EMQ, a cross-border financial settlement and payment network, is helping Tencent capture a share of Asia’s digital remittances market. It powers the tech giant’s WeRemit service, which enables overseas workers to send money back home through their mobile phones. More info.

9. Crea (Thailand)

Crea, an e-commerce agency formed by Lazada founders Aimone Ripa di Meana and Alessandro Piscini, aims to help brands promote their products to Southeast Asia’s online shoppers. They are specifically eyeing the region’s growing social commerce market. More info.

10. Wysa (India)

Wysa, an AI-driven conversational agent aimed at improving mental health, raised around US$2 million in a pre-series A round led by Pi Ventures. It will use the funds to strengthen its technology and prepare for market expansion. More info.

11. Otomo (Indonesia)

Tour driver- and car-rental platform Automo raised roughly US$145,000 in a seed funding round from an angel investor from Prestige Corp., as well as from an unnamed backer. More info.

12. FeedLoop (Indonesia)

FeedLoop, which provides a software-as-a-service interactive content marketing platform, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from East Ventures and several angel investors. More info.

13. CureFit (India)

CureFit is a health startup offering digital and offline experiences and services related to fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund is in talks to invest up to US$350 million in the startup. More info.

14. Simplify (Malaysia)

Simplify enables people to sell their excess mobile data when they share it via personal hotspot. About 60% of the startup’s sellers are ride-hailing drivers, while many of the end consumers are tourists. More info.

15. OnTime (China)

16. Zilliqa (Singapore)